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Saturday, March 22, 2014

BFI Flare: La Pasión de Michelangelo (2012)

[The
Passion Of Michelangelo]

In 1983, a small town in Chile called Penablanca
became the centre of attention due to a controversial local ‘miracle’.A young boy named Miguel Angel claimed to be
able to speak directly with the Virgin Mary.This might seem somewhat dubious, but to an extremely devout catholic
town in a country ruled by the dictator General Pinochet it was a miracle from
heaven.

The young boy lived with a priest,
Father Alcazar who would lead him up to the top of a hill and relay his
metaphysical conversation over a speaker-system to a crowd of adoring
fans.This eventually led to a priest,
Father Ruiz Tagle, being sent by the central church authorities to discover
whether the boy was authentic or just an elaborate hoax as more and more people
begin to make the pilgrimage to Miguel’s small town.

Director/producer Esteban Larraín tells
this story without judgment on the townsfolk and their passionate beliefs
focusing mainly on the lives of the boy (Sebastián Ayala), the local priest (Luis
Alarcon), the visiting priest (Patricio Contreras) and a skeptical local
photographer (Roberto Farías) who begins to document the phenomenon.

Miguel grows increasingly aware of his
celebrity and power so begins to grow complacent and rebellious testing his
followers to undertake humiliating commands like taking off their shoes and
eating dirt.

The townspeople live in a state of
uncertainty and fear about the state of the government and the army, with quiet
talk of revolution amongst the men.This
fear is clearly a factor in their unquestioning belief in Miguel’s story; they
just need something to hold on to.Larraín’s film is littered with religious iconography such as candle
shrines and rosemary beads so the audience can never doubt the sincerity of
their faith.

This religious fervor is also seemingly good
for the state as it distracts people from their brutality – such as the growing
number of army checkpoints – which is also heightened by the unlikeable Father
Alcazar telling the people that they should “pray for the president…” proving
that the clergy relies on a strict government so that people will turn to the
church.

As a backstory to the main narrative,
Miguel also begins to explore his sexuality with a number of his young friends
who he collects as ‘disciples’.The
representation of his questioning behavior is not given as a motivator for his
actions, but is simply a part of who he is.This use of homoeroticism as a background theme instead of a plot device
to further the narrative is a refreshingly realistic depiction of onscreen
sexuality.

After premiering at the 2013 Göteborg International
Film Festival, La Pasión has only had
a theatrical release in its home country Chile.But given the quality of the cinematography, the absurdity of the
narrative and the great central performances, it should definitely hope to
secure a worldwide release.